Stuck in Middle Earth
by sweetie747
Summary: three friends accidentally end up in middle earth without knowing how they got there. they meet Bilbo Baggins and begin their adventure. the girls soon learn to expect the unexpected in Middle Earth. My friend and I wrote this book together hope you enjoy it! i'll be uploading more chapters soon!:) read and please review, I would love to know what you all think!:)
1. Chapter 1 - the accident

_Chapter 1:_

'Come on, Adrianne, hurry up!' Renee exclaimed, grabbing her friends hand and dragging her along. 'I don't want to be late!'

'We are already late, Renee' sighed her friend, jogging to keep up with the excitable girl so as to not get dragged in the dirt. 'But we can hope that Thea would have saved us a spot, if she's there.' She continued, her British accent ringing out as they passed under a tunnel.

'But what if she's not! What if she decided to go to the Mall or something?' Renee replied anxiously, slowing down a bit once she realised Adra had fallen behind a little.

'Serious? The Mall? Are we talking about the same person here? Firstly Thali would never miss going to an _Australian _movie, as that's what she is, and secondly, she would rather rip off her right arm and feed it to Diesel than go to the mall willingly. She said so herself' Adrianne said in a-matter-of-factly tone, slowing down once they reached their destination.

The cinema was new, the only one in Louth, a small English town in which Renee grew up in and Adrianne moved to from London when she was young. The cinema's roof was tall casting a shadow on the ground where they were standing. In the reflection of the window, the two girls could see themselves. Renee was the smaller of the two but only by a little, with long dark hair and deep blue eyes. Her cheeky grin always reached her eyes, which sparkled every time she laughed. There was very little that would put Renee down. On the other hand, Adrianne was different. She was elegant and graceful, with fair hair and skin, and sky blue eyes which always felt as though they were reading your soul like an interesting novel.

The two girls were waiting outside once they realised their friend wasn't in there, and they were actually early, when a huge crash reached their ears, followed by a loud 'OW!' then quickly by an 'ahh shit! That bloody cat again, I swear another pounce like that an I'm gonna-' the voice stopped short as it rounded the corner, coming from the mouth of a tanned skin girl, with light brown hair and brilliantly green eyes.

She looked shocked but that expression soon turned into a lopsided grin as she realized who was standing before her "G'day guys, what are you doing here? I thought you said you'd be late" Thea exclaimed, walking towards her friends. "we thought we were late but apparently Renee got the times wrong." Adrianne said with an accusing glare at Renee. Before she could argue, however, a loud bark came from around the corner where Thea was. A dog soon rounded the corner, a huge Australian shepherd dog with blue eyes and a lopsided grin like Thea's. It was Thea's dog Diesel. "Here Diesel, come here boy!" called Renee, reaching out her hand so that the dog could sniff it. The dog took one look at the girl with her outstretched hand and ran in the other direction. "damn! Not again" said Thea as she sprinted after the quickly escaping canine. with a shared worried glance, Renee and Adrianne followed quickly.

The pursuit was exhausting, for Diesel was no lazy dog. He was born in Australian bushland and was used to running around the hot Aussie terrain for hours on end. Diesel spared a glance behind him and at the sight of the furious girls who were running after him, he leapt across the road and out of sight.

Renee was first after the dog, seeing as Thea tripped and fell on her way but quickly caught up and was soon overtaking Adrianne. Then, in the middle of the road, when Thea suddenly sprinted forward and ran smack-bang into Renee's back, Adrianne, still running, tripped over Renee's ankle and landed on top of both of them.

"Ah, you guys need to lose some weight" Thea groaned seeing as she was the one on the bottom and the smallest. As they all groggily sat up, they heard a huge blearing horn of a truck advancing on them with gaining speed. "Holy crap! Move!" screamed Thea as she tried to stand up but failed when she tripped over her own feet. Adrianne tried the same but she couldn't as she had rolled her ankle, Renee was sitting as still as a statue, petrified at the sight of the advancing truck. They all shut their eyes waiting for the impact and possibly their death too. The last thing they heard was the sound of wheels against tar and everything went pitch black and silent.


	2. Chapter 2 - Hobbiton

_Chapter 2:_

_**Renee's POV**_

I opened my eyes and everything was blindingly bright. I couldn't see. I don't remember anything that happened. But there was only one thing on my mind. Where was I? At the sound of a rustling and a groan, I whip my head around to see Adrianne sitting up slowly and mumbling something under her breath. She made to get up but fell down again, cursing and holding her now swollen ankle. 'Adrianne! Are you okay? Where are we? Do you remember anything that happened?' I asked with gaining panic. We slowly looked around and took in our surroundings. We appeared to be in the middle of a forest, with green trees circling us wherever we went. Everything looked lush and fresh, which made me guess it was morning. The sounds of twittering birds could be heard, singing to each other through the trees. All together it was breathtaking. 'This is just... beautiful.' Adrianne breathed in an awe-inspired voice, looking amazed. That look soon turned into a pained expression as she tried to move her leg. Just as I was about to put a hand on my friend's shoulder to steady her, the leaves next to me started rustling violently. I turned around in surprise just to see Thea groggily sitting up and registering the surroundings like we did before. She looked at Adrianne and myself with a bewildered expression before she said in a confused voice, 'Where the hell are we? Do you guys remember anything? I don't even remember what happened!'

'I don't know where we are, but do you think we could find civilisation soon and get some help for my leg?' Adrianne asked anxiously. As if we were going to say no. I turned to her and slowly agreed. 'Yes... I think finding a town or something would be safer than out here all night.'

'But... what if...' Thea started, but then stopped and shook her head slightly, her brown hair bouncing off her shoulders as she did so.

I turned to look at her. 'What if.. what, Thea?' I asked, wondering what was on her mind. 'What if... what if we're dead?' Thea asked slowly, as if saying it would make it true. 'I'm not sure... we'd better find out.' I said, giving her a reassuring look.

With one arm around Adrianne I stood up and gave Thea a look telling her to lead the way. With a nod, she grabbed a nearby stick and lead on, stopping them if there was a snake or anything in the path.

We walked slowly for a couple of hours, stopping to give Adrianne a rest every half an hour. When the trees finally thinned out, we appeared in a small village, with rolling hills and green grass, and trees every now and then. It appeared a very merry place, with a stone bridge crossing a stream, and markets bustling with activity. Other than that, however, I could not see any other buildings or anything. With a second glance, I suddenly realised that the houses were set _in the hills themselves. _This was a really odd village.

Once we got to the markets, we found a table and sat down, Adrianne letting out a low groan of relief as she planted herself on the wooden seat.

Once we got settled and focused on our surroundings, we realised the residents of this village were smaller than usual. And they didn't wear shoes. _And_ they had large hairy feet! _How strange_ I thought to myself, watching in awe as the small people wondered around, occasionally stopping to give the three of us weird looks and muttering about our clothes and stuff. Once they realised that we paid them no notice, the mutterings soon got louder and louder until people started asking questions and inquiring us. It got so annoying that I finally had enough. Grabbing Adrianne's hand, I gave Thea a look clearly saying _you do the honours. _With that lopsided grin of hers, and a nod, Thea opened her mouth and put her loud Aussie voice to good use. 'Oi! Listen up! Can you stop yakking about us as if we are statues and can't hear what you're bloody saying! we are alive you know, and we do have feelings!' with a pause, she stopped, now going slightly red with all the attention she caused and the silence that suddenly engulfed them, she took one look at all the small people looking at her in shock and finished with a 'Thank you for listening.' And with that, she nodded once and started walking away, all the villagers making a path for her, as if they were all afraid of her, in which I escorted Adrianne through.


	3. Chapter 3 - the unexpected party

Chapter 3:

Adrianne's POV:

As we walked away thankfully unscathed from the curious little people, A growing fear soon engulfed me along with the stabbing pain in my ankle. where are we going to go? who is going to help us? will we have to stay out in the cold all night? Questions buzzed through my head as Thea lead us down a pathway. I looked at her curiously, because she seemed like she knew where to go. 'Umm... Thea?' Renee asked, obviously thinking the same thing I was judging by her tone.

'Mmm?' Thea replied, obviously lost in her own thoughts.

'Where are we going?' Renee questioned, obviously not trusting her navigation still since the incident of '98, or the thing-we-shall-not-speak-of-again according to Thee.

'Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of it.' was all she said, and I looked at Renee, who looked a little alarmed at the way she said it.

We walked a little longer, none of us saying a word, but Renee and I sharing glances every now and then, until we stopped outside one of those curious little houses set in the green hills. It was set a little apart from the other houses, with a wooden gate and bench on the outside, with stone steps leading up to a green round door. It looked way cleaner than the other houses in the village, and more beautiful too. We caught up to Thee, who stopped, staring at the vast green door. With a satisfied look on her face, Thea exclaimed 'Ah! here we go! This one looks nice and secluded!' And with a skip in her step, she opened the gate and started walking up to the door. I looked at Renee, bewildered. What on earth was she doing?! walking up to a complete stranger's house? Maybe that's normal in Australia...

I voiced my thoughts to Renee, who shrugged and slowly followed Thea up the stairs, me still leaning on her, a little heavily.

Thea waited at the door until we were all there, and knocked three times. A little person opened the door, wearing a golden tunic thingy and a white shirt underneath, with a sky blue scarf.

He stared in shock at the sight of us, then looked at our clothing. I really don't know what people are doing gawking at our clothes like we're some weirdoes or something. it's kind of weird, because what we're wearing is quite normal. I am wearing my short blue dress that matched my eyes, which had white flower patterns on it and a whit belt around my waist. Renee was wearing her purple top and black skirt, with the words keep calm and eat cupcakes on her shirt. Thea however was wearing her short green tank top that showed her stomach, ripped denim jeans with a black belt, and her boots. Thea's rocker outfit was a little alarming I have to admit when we first met her 2 years ago, but we got used to it.

The man looked at us again, before he realised what he was doing and said, a little hastily 'Umm.. Good morning? Can I help you with something?' his eyes darted between the three of us, looking a little scared now.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, Thea cut in 'Yes, you could.' she said with a gleam in her eye, and it took all my willpower to put my head in my hands. When it comes to first impressions, Thee isn't the perfect person. 'My name is Thea, and these are my friends Renee and Adrianne. as you can see, Adrianne is a little injured and we were wondering whether you could lend us a hand.' Thea explained in the politest tone she could muster, which surprised me greatly, for Thee usually never really used her polite tone on anyone. The small man looked at me, as if questioning me that I was really injured, then sighed and stood aside with an 'of course, pray come in.' that exasperated look soon turned into one of shock when Thee revealed her tipsy grin and said, a little heartily, her green eyes gleaming 'Thanks, mate, really appreciated.' and strolled into his house. I sighed. I knew she wouldn't last.

Once we got inside the man, who said his name was Bilbo Baggins, sat me down into a chair and gave me a cup of tea and some ice to put on my foot. with a note of thanks, I started gulping down the tea. Thea scrunched up her nose at the sight, for she was no tea drinker, she preferred beer instead. Once we were all settled, Bilbo looked at us and inquired 'Are you human? Because you're quite small and I've heard that dwarf-women have beards, which you don't have...' he trailed off and looked at our chins, as if magically a beard would spring up and answer his question. 'Umm no, I don't think we're dwarves..." Renee stopped and soon appeared lost in thought. All was silent until Bilbo decided to ask another question. 'Why are your names so... different? I cannot say that I have ever heard names like Renee, Thea, or Adrianne before.' he inquired yet again. 'Umm... well...' This one stumped me. Our names were quite normal, to be honest. While I was figuring out an answer, Thee cut in, 'Maybe we could change them. Y'know, to suit you?' She said, and all three of us looked at her in shock. But as that sunk in, it kind of made sense. It would stop arousing questions, after all...

After a long while of debate our names were finally changed from Adrianne, Renee and Thea to Adra, Rena and Thali. We decided to keep our new names close to our old ones so as to not cause too much of a confusion. Once that was all settled, Bilbo looked at our clothes again and said slowly 'You know... my mother was quite the adventurer and brought back lots of artefacts. I'm sure she probably has some more suitable clothes for you than... those.' He gestured to our clothing and looked at us inquiringly. 'Umm yea ok I guess we can change' Rena said, and followed Bilbo to help him get the clothes.

Once we got clothes that looked like they fitted us, Bilbo walked out of the house in a kind of awkward fashion and made for the bench next to the wooden fence, pipe in hand.

We were clothed and waiting for Bilbo to come back inside, I heard a strange noise, like talking. Thee, no, Thali, quickly went to the window to inspect. Her face was scrunched up in a small frown of confusion as she looked out of the open window. 'What's happening? Who's out there?' I asked curiously, while Rena walked to the door and put her ear to it, trying to hear what they were saying. 'I can't hear what they're saying - but there's a tall man there, he's got a grey cloak and an awesome grey hat, with a staff.' Thali explained, with a small grin.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing Rena to fall backwards, and I heard Bilbo saying in a flustered tone 'Good Morning!' and quickly shut the door and hid behind it. Once he was sure the man was really gone, he saw Rena flat on the floor, and his expression changed as he started spluttering an apology to her. Grumbling as she got up, she forgave him and her wide smile soon returned to her face.

A few hours later, while the three of us were sitting in the lounge, eating our dinner, while Bilbo went into the kitchen to eat his, a loud ring sounded from the door. Bilbo, looking very curious, got up from his chair and went over to the door and opened it.

With my ankle feeling much better, I could shift my weight to see who was at the door. He was very burly looking, with a bald head and a black beard. He looked deadly, especially with two axes on his back and more weapons at his belt. He walked into the lounge, and since Thali and Rena hadn't seen him, Rena jumped and kind of coiled back at his glare, while Thali, as fearless as she was, just glared back at him. This glaring match lasted a few moments before he grunted and said, in a voice as gruff as his appearance, 'Dwalin, at your service.' And bowed and walked into the kitchen, where Bilbo's meal was quite forgotten. Until Dwalin walked in. He sat down and started eating the fish, head and all, mouth open. Rena and I put our bowls down, our appetites quite taken away, but Thali kept eating as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes at her and she stopped eating with her mouth full of food and managed to say, in a muffled tone, 'what? my dad eats like that all the time?'

Rena apparently had had enough. She stood up, walked over to Bilbo and started cascading him with questions, which go along the lines of, 'Where are we? Who is this? why are you so short? why are your feet huge? why do you live in a hill and why on earth is there no wifi?' Bilbo stood stock still and started answering them in a hesitant tone. 'You are in Bag End, my home, This is Dwalin, A dwarf. I am so short because I'm a Hobbit, from the Shire, and all Hobbits are shorter than Dwarves, which you seem to be. My feet are huge because, again, I'm a Hobbit. And what on Middle-Earth is wifi?' he finished and took in a deep breath. Rena's mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide with shock. I was a little confused myself. Hobbits? dwarves? NO WIFI? Where on Earth are we? what accident could have caused us to become this lost? I thought to myself as silence filled the little hobbit hole.

Suddenly, jerking everyone out of their thoughts, except for Dwalin, the doorbell rang again. 'That'll be the door.' Dwalin grunted as he looked up at Bilbo, who rushed to answer it. Rena turned and walked into the hallway which contained several bedrooms, chose one and closed the door behind her. I guess she needed time to wrap her head around this, much like I did. But I decided to stay out here, just in case Thali decided to get into mischief again.

Dwalin, now finished his meal, started looking around the kitchen for more things to devour. His hand was inside a cookie jar when an older dwarf with an impressive white beard entered the kitchen with a 'evening, brother.' Dwalin put the jar down and they had a short conversation. I looked over at Thali who could always tell when I was looking at her, and made no reaction except nodding her head back at the two dwarves, which of whom I turned my head to. My eyes widened in shock when they head-butted each other.

When the dwarves, and a very flustered looking Bilbo walked into the pantry, I turned to see Thali shaking with laughter. I rolled my eyes at her again and we both went in to check on Rena. She looked a little stressed but other than that quite ok.

then the doorbell rang again.


	4. Chapter 4That's what Bilbo Baggins hates

Chapter 4:

**Fili's POV:**

"this must be Mr Boggins' house! Look Fili, here's the mark on the door!" says Kili, my brother. It was a neat little house, with a wooden gate and bench on the outside and stone steps leading up to the round, green door with a shiny yellow brass knob right in the middle. I rang the doorbell and a few seconds later, a flustered looking hobbit opened the door. He sighed in an exasperated way. 'Fili- and Kili- at your service' we said and bowed to him at the same time. "you must be Mr Boggins!" said Kili, 'it's Baggins, actually.' Came a voice from somewhere inside the house, and then a girl walked out wearing a green top, white, puffy, full sleeves and brown pants. She had long, light brown hair that tumbled gorgeously past her shoulders and brilliant green eyes which were so bright, it made everything around her look dull. My breath hitched for a moment as I saw her and when she smiled at me, I could feel a sudden warmth coursing through me. "Nope! Sorry, you can't come in, you've got the wrong house." Mr Baggins was saying which brought me back to middle earth.

'What? Has it been cancelled?' asked Kili, "No-one told us" I said, tearing my eyes away from the pretty girl. "Can- no nothing's been cancelled!" said Bilbo Baggins looking very confused now. 'that's a relief!' grinned Kili as he opened the door properly and walked in. I followed, then stopped and turned to Mr Baggins, "careful with these, I just had them sharpened." I said, handing him my many weapons. The pretty lass was eyeing my weapons curiously. "This is a nice place, did you do it yourself?" asks Kili, 'what – no, it's been in the family for years.' replied the hobbit.

Kili was poking around the house and started wiping his muddy boots on a small box. "That's my mother's glory box, can you please not do that?" pleaded Bilbo but Kili took no notice. I chuckled to myself "Fili, Kili, come on give us a hand." Said Dwalin and walked off into the kitchen, I followed. "Shove this in the hallway, otherwise we'll never get everyone in" said Balin as he handed me something, I wasn't paying attention, as the pretty lass with the beautiful hair tripped over a chair and had to fling her arms out to cling onto the table to steady herself. "hang on, everyone?! How many more are there?" questioned Bilbo with a note of hysteria in his voice now, when the doorbell rang yet again. "Oh no, no no, there's nobody home, go away and bother somebody else! There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is.." yelled Mr Baggins at the door and continued grumbling all the way towards it. In his anger, Bilbo lurched open the door and a whole lot of dwarves fell into the house, nearly squashing the poor hobbit. 'Get off you big lump' grumbled one of the dwarves as they struggled to get up. There, standing behind all the dwarves was Gandalf. Gandalf bent down and looked at the dwarves, who were still struggling, and then looked at Bilbo. "Gandalf." The hobbit sighed.

Once all the dwarves were inside, the real arranging began. Food was being moved from the pantry to the dining room while Mr. Baggins ran around shouting, without much effect, 'Put that back! Put that back! Not the Tomatoes, please! No, not Grandpa Mungo's chair, it's antique, it's not for sitting on!' Right at that moment, dodging Bombur and his stacked cheese wheels, Gandalf wondered into the area to check on the progress. We were checking a beer keg to see if any leaks were present, and when we were moving it into the dining room, Gandalf acknowledged us with an 'Ah! Fili, Kili!' Then he began checking the dwarves off his hand and saying their names until he came to the conclusion that there was one short, in which Dwalin assured that he will make it, and he is only late. I looked around for the girl but she was gone. instead, there was another.

She wore a simple black dress with full sleeves, had blue eyes, long, curly dark brown hair that fell to her waist, an armband on her right arm and a bracelet on her left. Kili seemed to have noticed her standing shyly there because he was staring at her like he forgot how to close his mouth. In fact, my brother was so occupied staring at the girl that he almost dropped his end of the keg. When he realised I was looking at him with a smug expression, he simply said 'Oh, just shut up, Fee!' and continued moving the barrel, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. Once everything was settled, we started to eat. Food was flying everywhere as we threw it to each other. 'Hey, Bombur! catch!' Bofur cried across the table to his brother, and threw an egg at him. With much ease, he caught it in his mouth and all the dwarves cheered with glee, clearly having too much fun.

I was chuckling and grinning from ear to ear, when I noticed the pretty lass with the green top trying, without much success, to carry 5 tankards with two hands. I quickly got up to help her, and just in time too, for her feet caught on the rug just as I took them all out of her hands. She steadied and righted herself again, and looked up at my face, straight in the eye. I could tell, by this action, she was pretty fearless. She smiled and said 'Thanks.' and I started a little, for her accent was... different. She grinned again at my startled expression, and went to get more tankards. I looked back at the table and climbed up on it, kicking away food and shouting 'Who wants an Ale? there you go!' After all the ales had been handed out, I sat down and Bofur cried 'Ales on three! One, Two -' And Kili interrupted with an 'Up!' At that, all the dwarves drank their Ales, the liquid dripping down their beards. Once they had finished, some of them started burping, only to be outmatched by Ori, who did the loudest burp of them all. They were all cheering him and his brother, Nori, cried 'I knew you had it in yeh!'

When the dwarves finished eating, we sort of split into groups and talked for a while. I myself was talking to Kili, when I noticed the Hobbit talking to Gandalf in a flustered tone. Ori soon came up and asked what to do with his plate. Noticing the pretty lass standing close, a sudden urge to make her attention turn to me soon overcame me. I rushed up to the hobbit and the dwarf. 'Here you go, Ori, give it to me.' I said as I took the plate out of his hands and chucked them to a waiting Kili, who had caught on to what was about to happen. He caught it, and threw it to Bifur, who was waiting by the sink. He caught it with ease without even looking. That's when Kili started to sing:

_Blunt the knives, bend the forks!_

I grinned, for I knew the song, and while balancing a bowl on both my elbows before chucking it to Dwalin and winking at the girl who was giggling at the sight, I sang the next line:

_Smash the bottles and burn the corks,_

_Then everyone joined in:_

_Chip the glasses and crack the plates,_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates!_

_Cut the cloth, tread on the fat,_

_leave the bones on the bedroom mat,_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor,_

_Splash the wine on every door!_

_dump the crocks in a boiling bowl,_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole,_

_when you're finished, if any are whole,_

_Send them down the hall to roll,_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates! _

We all finished the song in laughter, at the sight of Bilbo's face when he saw we did none of the terrible things, and my eyes locked with the girl's beautiful green ones, and, surprisingly, she waved and waded her way over to me. When she reached me, she said, over all the noise, 'I'm Thali!' There was her cute accent again, and I smiled at her and said, 'I'm Fili!' Before we could say anything else to each other, there were three loud knocks at the door. We all fell silent as I knew who it was. Uncle. Gandalf knew too, for he said, in a serious tone, 'He is here.'


	5. Chapter 5- The misty mountains cold

Chapter 5:

**Thali's POV:**

The night was an interesting one. Dwarves came to Mr. Baggins' house uninvited, started raiding his pantry and eating all his food. Their table manners were quite like that of my family's at Christmas lunch back in Australia. That was, until I moved to England because mum wanted all of us to start a new life. Not that Australia was bad or anything, in fact, it was amazing, it's just when my only brother Kyle died in a car accident, mum and dad couldn't stand to live there anymore. Anyway, after they had finished eating, they started singing and throwing plates around the room. It was quite entertaining. Damn! If only my washing ups were that fun…I was laughing with everyone else at the sight of Bilbo's face… the poor Hobbit... the trauma he must be going through, when I saw him.

He was laughing with a few other dwarves I had yet to learn the names of. He was… interesting. He had an aura about him, like that of importance, but he was fun and outgoing, much like his brother. He also had the coolest braids I have ever seen. There were two tucked behind his ears, and two hanging down in front of them. He also had a braided moustache. How awesome is that?! And his eyes… They were an amazing blue colour, and they were full of life and happiness. But there was something else in them, something… different. Anyway, I decided to go up and say hi. And boy, was it a difficult task. I waded through the laughing dwarves, with difficulty, and that's when he saw me and looked at me in surprise when I waved at him.

Maybe I'm too scary. No, Can't be. He's a head taller than me and a hell of a lot stronger than me. Maybe I'm too weird… maybe it's my accent… maybe it's my hair… or eyes… am I not pretty enough? Random thoughts kept tumbling through my mind as I made my way to him. Woah, calm down Thea, what is wrong with you? That thought entered my mind and, to be honest, that was the most sensible question my silly brain was asking right now. Normally I don't care what people think about me, but when it comes to handsome blonde dwarves with fabulous moustaches, apparently I'm really self-conscious.

When I finally reached him and introduced myself, he smiled down at me with a look that made all my thoughts fade a little, my heart to flutter and more positive thoughts enter my mind. He replied with an 'I'm Fili!' Then there was a knock at the door. Gandalf was the one to open it. And there, in the doorway, stood a dwarf. There was only one word to describe him. Majestic. His whole persona was just of that same importance that Fili had around him, only more… shown, I guess you could say. He had black hair with silver streaks in it, and icy blue eyes. When the door opened, he said in a voice that was full of authority, 'Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find.' And with a shadow of a smile, he stepped inside the door and the wizard closed it behind him. 'I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door.' He continued, as he handed his cloak to Fili's brother… I think his name was Kili… and then turned back to Gandalf, who acknowledged Bilbo instead, who, in that time had to find out about the mark on his beautiful green door. 'Bilbo, I'd like you to meet the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.' Gandalf told the hobbit, and Thorin turned to Bilbo. 'So this is the hobbit.' Thorin said, and I could sense Bilbo shrinking back a little, 'Tell me, master Baggins, do you do much fighting?' 'Excuse me?' 'Axe or sword, which is your weapon of choice?' 'Well, I do have some skill at conkers if you must know.' Bilbo said hesitantly.

The poor guy. Thorin looked at him in amusement. 'Thought as much. Looks more like a grocer than a burglar.' Thorin commented, and a few dwarves chuckled, for which I inwardly glared at them. After a moment they all went into the dining room again. Most of the discussion was a blur to me. I wasn't one for sitting down and listening. My mind wandered back to my homeland, the great Aussie outback, watching the stars at night with Kyle (my brother), waking up to the sound of cackling Kookaburras in the morning, watching kangaroos bound across the backyard, always in a hurry… But at the mention of a dragon from the dwarf in the funny hat, I was brought back to the present. You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself, while I looked at Bilbo, who was standing next to me. Dragons! What the hell did I do to end up in this place?

By the time my thoughts processed, Bilbo had already been given a piece of paper. Wait, hold on, is this some sort of noble quest thing? Was my next thought, but that was soon pushed out of my mind at the sight of Bilbo fainting. After some of the dwarves had brought him back to consciousness, I decided to go check on Rena and Adra. After all, they hadn't been out for a while. I looked in the doorway, only to find both of them fast asleep. I sighed. Damn. I really don't want to sit here awkwardly the rest of the night. Oh well. I found a seat next to a window and sat down, thinking about the day's events and trying to recall what happened earlier before we woke up in a forest. It was all fuzzy, but I remember hearing a horn of some sort and I remember falling over and something landing on top of me. Then I remember falling over again. Well, me falling over isn't really anything significant, because I am my clumsy self, and my clumsy self loves kissing the ground sometimes.

I sighed. If only I was more conscious of what I was doing half the time…My thoughts were interrupted by two pairs of butts sitting themselves down in the two seats in front of me. I looked up and saw two pairs of eyes. One pair a chocolate brown and one pair an ocean blue. The two brothers. Fili and Kili. I sighed a little, which made Fili look concerned and Kili laugh. 'So we only just sit down and you're tired of us already.' Kili remarked, and I grinned at him. 'Well, my brother has just informed me that your name is Thali, unless I am mistaken.' He continued and I looked at his blonde brother, who smiled at me. 'Yea… that's correct.' I said slowly and glanced between the two. They really looked quite different. Kili had brown eyes and hair, and a shadow of a beard growing on his face. He looked the less muscly of the two which made me guess he used either knives or a bow as a weapon. Fili, however, looked more the heavy-handed weapons kind of guy. He was shorter and stockier than his brother, but only by a bit, with all his braids and weapons. Anyway, Kili started at my accent, as Fili had done before, and I grinned, as I had done before. I didn't push on the subject, however, and changed to another one. 'Why are you sitting here?' I asked out of pure curiosity, and both of them realised, to my relief that I was only curious. 'You looked lonely.' Fili answered this time. With that, a conversation soon started, and not long after we were all laughing together like we had known each other for years.

As we were laughing, the sound of gentle humming could be heard in the next room, gradually getting louder. It was beautiful, yet full of sadness, almost like a death march. As soon as they heard it, the two brothers got up slowly, and entered the next room, humming quietly along to the song. I followed, and when I reached the doorway I decided to stay there, in the background, because I realised who was leading the humming. Thorin Oakenshield. I felt awkward, as if I was intruding on something private. There was also something about this song, that seemed to tie the dwarves together, and yeah, I'm not one of them. Then the singing began. It was a majestic, low voice, which made me guess exactly who was singing. Thorin. What really got me were the words. They spoke of dragon fire and great halls of stone, and things that should never have been forgotten, but were lost. When the song ended, I resisted the urge to clap wildly and cheer with great effort. That's when I left, because I had a sudden idea.

When I found Mr. Baggins' bedroom and shared my thoughts with him, he agreed, a little reluctantly perhaps, but at least he agreed. I turned and made my way back to the dwarves only to find them on the floor, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. I scoffed, which made the dwarves nearest to me - Dwalin, the one with the funny hat, and Kili - look at me in confusion. 'Do you guys want to go to sleep at all? Because I have rooms and beds that might be more comfortable than the floor.' I said to them all. They looked bewildered, but the older dwarf - Balin - started whispering something to Thorin, who listened and nodded his head at me. My next words were along the lines of 'Great! Now follow me and I'll show you to your rooms.' And with that, I walked into the hall, with all the dwarves following me.

There were 9 rooms in Bag End. Two of them were currently occupied, so that makes 7. I quickly scanned all the rooms, decided which one was the most majestic and offered it to Thorin. He nodded his head gratefully, walked inside and shut the door behind him. The next room I offered to Balin and Dwalin. They too, gave me a 'thanks' and retired for the night. The one after that was soon occupied by the dwarf in the funny hat - Bofur, he told me his name was- and his brother, a large dwarf with a cool rope beard and said his name was Bombur. All the dwarves filed in two by two and when they reached their rooms, they all gave me their names: Nori and Bifur. Dori and Ori. Oin and Gloin. After all of those had gotten their bedrooms and that left one more room.

I turned to Fili and Kili, and ushered them inside. They just stood there, looking at me. 'What?' I asked, confused. 'Where are you going to sleep?' Kili asked, and Fili added on 'This is the last room, all the others are occupied. If you have nowhere to sleep, you take this room, for we do not want it.' I sighed. 'No, no, it's ok, you guys sleep in here, I've camped outside before, and besides, I already have somewhere to sleep.' That last part was of course, a lie, but I had to get them to sleep somehow. They didn't look very convinced, but moved into the room anyway. Once all the dwarves were settled, I went on my own little hunt to find a comfortable spot. I eventually found one, the floor in the lounge room. I lay down but jumped up almost immediately for I had forgotten someone. Gandalf! I went searching for him, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Just when I was about to give up I saw him stroll past Bag End, outside on the path. I sighed, Wizards (!). I laid down yet again and almost instantly my eyes were shut. I hadn't realised that I was that tired. Nor had I realised that while I was sleeping, a certain blonde dwarf had come in and wrapped a blanket around me so I wouldn't get cold.


	6. Chapter 6 - the bet

Chapter 6:

Kili's POV

I kept turning over in the bed, as comfortable as it was, I just couldn't get to sleep. Fili couldn't go to sleep either apparently, because he had gotten up and walked out of our room. He must be hungry or something… typical Fee! I thought. As for me, it wasn't hunger that was keeping me up, it was her… that pretty lass I had seen in the hallway when Fee and I were carrying that keg. I kept thinking about her bright, blue eyes that sent chill up my spine, her long, curly, dark brown hair and.. just her in general. I heard a slight creak as I lay awake thinking and I turned my head slightly to the side so I could see, and I saw Fili walking in quietly, so as not to wake me up. I shut my eyes as he climbed into the bed, pretending to be asleep. I heard Fee sigh and turn away and soon after, quiet snores from my brother's side of the bed told me he was sleeping.

That night, I dreamt of Erebor, not destroyed anymore, but rebuilt… and perfectly too, at that. It wasn't exactly a dream either, just images that came to me, one after the other. In one, uncle Thorin and a girl were walking away from me towards the palace of Erebor. The scene changed and I saw Fili and Thali, arms around each other and laughing. A scene of myself and the pretty lass replaced Fili and Thali. I was leading her towards my house in Ered Luin when Dis, my mother, walked out, her face smiling and her arms outstretched, greeting us. We started walking towards her when she suddenly faded and a horrifying sight met my eyes. Fili's lifeless body next to my uncle Thorin's, staring up at the sky. My heart filled with dread, I tried to yell out Fili's name but no sound came out. Everything was spinning, it couldn't be, not my brother or uncle Thorin! It just couldn't be happening…

I sat up straight on the bed, panting and feeling sick at the gruesome image, still fresh in my mind. 'Kili?' said my brother's sleepy voice. I swallowed, 'yeah?' I answered as Fili sat up and looked at me in concern through the darkness. 'what's wrong?'

'I- yeah, nothing. I just couldn't get to sleep.' I said. 'Are you sure Kee? Is something bothering you?' I hesitated, no I couldn't tell him. It had taken a lot to persuade uncle Thorin, my mother and the other dwarves that I was old enough to come on the quest and that I deserved a chance. If I told him now, he would probably be worried, he might tell uncle and he might decide that I couldn't come on the quest after all? "no, it's nothing. I'll be asleep in no time." I finally said. When Fili had turned over and probably gone back to sleep, I lay down and stared at the ceiling. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep and thankfully, I didn't have any dreams or nightmares.

Fili had woken up early and was grinning at me, then something soft was slammed into my face. A pillow. "Rise and shine brother! We're setting off early" he says 'just five more minutes Fee…' I mumbled into the pillow, turning over. "oh! Hello Thali, and who's your friend there?" I tried to get up so fast that I fell out of the bed. Oh god, she's going to think I'm so clumsy. I looked at the doorway and there was no-one there. "very funny Fee, just hilarious." I said sarcastically.

I stood up and stretched as Fili smirked at me. "Held Thali's hand lately Fee?" I shot back, as Fee blushed a little. 'I don't know what you're talking about Kee... Just hurry up and get ready.' He told me and left the room. I checked myself in the mirror and followed. In one of Bilbo's many hallways, I found Fili, and uncle Thorin. The other dwarves were also there, although Bombur, Bifur, Ori and Nori looked quite sleepy. "I do not think that master Baggins will be joining us, so we shall set off early and get a head start on our journey." Said uncle. Gandalf suddenly appeared and announced "the ponies are ready Thorin." And led us outside to find sixteen ponies waiting. Balin soon followed, after setting the contract that Bilbo had given back to him on the table, just in case he changed his mind. Uncle paused, "why are there three extra ponies Gandalf?" Gandalf didn't answer and uncle said, amused 'you think the hobbit will come after us and the ladies will follow.' It was a statement, not a question.

Gandalf climbed onto his pony without a word and uncle Thorin also swung himself onto his pony (Dawn) and the rest of us followed their lead and climbed onto our ponies. I was on Minty, my pony and Fili on Sheena and Mahal knows what Ori, Dori, Nori, Bifur and the others named their ponies… we set off into the distance, away from Hobbiton. I was talking to Nori and Fili when Fee suddenly said "I hope the others will come." I sneaked a glance at him because that was exactly what I was thinking, when Nori said 'wanna bet?' "You're on!" Fee and I said together, grinning.


	7. Chapter 7 - the pony ride

Chapter 7:

Adra's POV:

I turned over and opened my eyes at the sound of horses - or ponies? I never could tell the difference. Rena was still sleeping next to me but I couldn't see Thali. Slowly, I sat up and tested my ankle. It was still a little swollen, but it didn't hurt as much anymore.

I walked down into Bilbo's pantry. I was hungry, but there was only a little bit of fruit left. I shrugged, grabbed and apple and went to see if Thali or Bilbo were awake. Bilbo was still asleep in his room, so I decided that Thali must be too, and went into the lounge room to finish off my apple.

I walked in, only to trip over a small bundle on the floor. Thali, asleep on the floor, with one of the spare blankets wrapped around her. She must've given the dwarves Rena told me about the guest rooms and slept here all night.

Poor Thali. I sat on the couch as quietly as I could, and bit into my apple. Unfortunately, that woke Thali up. Nice one, I thought to myself. 'Adra.' said Thali, sitting up sleepily, 'How's your ankle?' She asked me.

'It's a lot better.' I reassured her. 'Why did you sleep in here? And on the floor, too? You could've slept in our room, you know.'

'Well, all the guest rooms were taken by the dwarves and I didn't want to wake you or Rena up, so here I am.' A sudden thought occurred to me.

'Umm, Thali? Do you think the dwarves are still asleep?'

'Naah, they should be up by now. I'll go check.' Thali, replied and stood up and stretched, then walked out of the lounge room. While I was waiting, I heard a bang and a muffled 'OW!' then she returned, mumbling, 'Now THAT was not a door!'

'None of the dwarves are here, they must've left early.' There was something in her voice, disappointment maybe. And that surprised me. For some reason, it's easy for me to look at people and sort of work out their personality. I had thought I knew Thali, but I was wrong. At least, a little bit. Thali had never cared about what anyone thought of her, but when it comes to dwarves, apparently it's a whole other story. 'They might have left a note or something.' Thali grumbled.

'Well, what if they did?' I said, and while I said that, I saw a hopeful spark in her brilliant green eyes. Together, we started searching the house for the note.

The only thing I found was a contract. When Thali saw it, she said that one of the dwarves handed it to Bilbo last night. I quickly scanned the pages, and I almost dropped the paper in surprise. Quest!? Erebor?! Funeral arrangements?! Dragon?! INCINERATION?! my mind was in fast motion. Oh no. No no no. There is NO way I am following those dwarves now. 'Err, Th- Thali? I don't suppose you are going to follow th-these dwarves, are you?' I managed to splutter out, and she looked at me in concern. 'Of course... why?' she asked slowly, her green eyes boring into me as if by burning a hole through my soul with her retinas would answer her question. 'No-no reason.' I stammered, and shakily put the paper down. At that time Rena was up and she wandered into the lounge. 'What's wrong, Adra? you look all pale?' She inquired, her voice full of worry. 'Ah! Here's the walking dead! Welcome to life, my friend, you slept a while!' Thali exclaimed, as we both walked over to her. She rolled her eyes at Thali, and Thali grinned that crooked grin of hers. That's when Bilbo walked in, and looked around the room. Taking no notice of any of us, he found the contract on the table where Adra put it down moments before, and he picked it up. He looked over it again, sighed, and looked back at us. Rena raised an eyebrow, and said 'Fancy going on an adventure?' I could tell he wanted to, but he was scared. I glanced over at Thali, who understood, and said, 'Because we'd love to join you, if you want the company of course.' And I nodded in agreement. I may not like the prospect of dragons, but maybe if my friends were on this thing it might not be so bad.

Bilbo looked between the three of us. He hesitated, and Thali quickly added, 'It's ok, we don't have to go if you don't want us -' but Bilbo cut her off. 'No no no, I want you all to go, and that would probably be the only way I would go, to be honest.' He confessed, a hand running through his light brown hair. We all stared at him in shock. I did not expect that.

Thali was the first to recover. 'Well that's settled then. Come on, Master Baggins, sign the contract and we'll get ready to go on an adventure!' She exclaimed, then ran off to the room where all her stuff was. 'Oh dear god,'

I heard Rena say under her breath. 'Here we go' I mumbled back to her, and she snorted in laughter. When Thali gets excited, it usually doesn't end very well.

A few minutes later, once Bilbo had signed the contract and Thali had packed everyone's bags in hyper - speed, we set out on our very first adventure.

We were walking pretty fast, but that only stopped when Rena caught sight of the company and set off in a run. Following her sight, Thali saw as well and sprinted, overtaking Rena easily. Bilbo and I shared a glance, and started running as well. The hobbit started shouting out to the dwarves, telling them to stop. But because he was so small and running as fast as his legs would carry him, which is slow in comparison to Thali, his voice was pretty soft. I helped him, and Rena too, and soon all three of us were yelling at the top of our lungs, which still wasn't enough. But apparently enough for Thali to hear. Still running, she whipped her head around at the sound of us yelling, flashed a cheeky lopsided smile, and yelled, at her topmost voice, which is deafening, 'OI! STOP THE BLOODY HORSE PARADE!' That got their attention.

All the dwarves stopped, and turned around in confusion. When we caught up to them, I could see their faces clearly. Most of them looked surprised to see us, all except Gandalf. Well, what I'm sure is Gandalf anyway. Thali told me he was the wizard of our company. He smiled down at us from his horse. That's when my eyes caught sight of the leader of our group thing. He had long brown hair and icy blue eyes. He scolded at us from his pony, and I cowered a little behind Thali. Thali looked around and saw him as well, but instead she smiled a little, as if she had some sort of joke she shared with him. Once Balin had welcomed us to the group, the man, who must've been Thorin, the one that Thali told me about, said, in an unimpressed tone, 'Give them a pony.'

Bilbo started spluttering excuses here and there as to why he should not ride a pony, but two dwarves, one of whom with blonde hair and a braided moustache winked a Thali, lifted the poor hobbit off the ground and onto a small pack pony.

An extended hand reached my vision. A dwarf with a funny hat smiled down at me and said, 'Care for a pony, lass. Sadly, we don't have one for each of you, so you might have to share with your friend.' he winked. I smiled, agreed, and let him lift me up onto a beautiful chestnut pony on which Rena was already sitting, a cheeky grin on her face.

I've ridden a pony only once before, at a Fair in London. It was an exciting experience, and I've always wanted to ride one again. Well, now I can. I looked behind me. Thali had her own pony, a beautiful black one, with a flowing mane. Thali was stroking it's neck and talking to it quietly - When she was in Australia she rode horses nearly every day.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that blonde dwarf and his friend gesture for Thali to come over to them, and she did, guiding her pony with ease. Apparently Thali had already made friends.

'Here, Nori, hand it over.' A voice reached my ears. It was the blonde's friend, calling out to a dwarf with... interesting hair. He tossed a small bag over his shoulder and I had to duck to get out of the way of it. 'Now, Kee we're still splitting that, right?' I heard the blonde ask. 'Of course, Fee,' Said the other, in the same cheeky tone Rena and Thali use when they're up to something, 'Why would you expect otherwise?' He asked again in an innocent tone. I snorted a little.

No wonder he and Thali are friends...


	8. Chapter 8 - Thorin learns a lesson

Chapter 8:

Rena's POV

After the nice dwarf Bofur, he said his name was, helped Adra up onto our pony, I gripped the reigns and let a smile spread on my face. I loved riding ponies! Our pony was a beautiful chestnut pony, Adra and I named it Twilight. The dwarves introduced themselves to Adra and I because we hadn't met them yet, only Thali had. There were: Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili and Thorin. Bombur&amp; Bofur were brothers and Bifur was their cousin. Nori, Dori and Ori, were brothers, Oin and Gloin, and Balin and Dwalin were also brothers. Thorin was the son of Thrain and his nephews were Fili, a blonde dwarf with an awesome braided moustache and a huge amount of weapons, and Kili, he had no braids in his brown hair and an almost non-existent beard and chocolate brown eyes. Kili's weapons were a bow and arrows, a dwarven sword and a hunting dagger. Fili greeted me warmly, whereas Kili was noticeably shyer and didn't meet my eyes when he said "Kili, at your service, Lady Rena" Thorin looked at all of us in turn, though I thought his eyes landed on Adra for a second longer and his expression changed into a soft one but hardened almost immediately. Then, Thorin merely nodded at us as if he was too majestic to bother with us, which made me mad but I reminded myself that he was a lot tougher than me and he could probably kill me within ten seconds and I kept my mouth shut.

These dwarves were a lot of fun to be around and had a lot of energy, I see what Thali meant now, I just couldn't imagine getting tired of them. I was still thinking about the dwarves when Thali, Kili and Fili came up behind us. We talked for ages; the pony ride was a lot of fun… until it started pouring with rain.

'Let's stop here for tonight.' Thorin shouted over the downpour of rain. He pointed to a spot which would provide decent cover until the rain stopped. We all dragged our equipment inside and Gloin started a fire to warm us up. Not too soon after, Night had fallen and the rain stopped. I was snuggled next to Adra, a blanket around the both of us tried to get some sleep. I saw Mr. Baggins walk over to his horse, Myrtle, and sneak her an apple. I snorted a little, which made Fili look up from his spot next to Kili and Thali, a block of wood in his hand and a small knife in the other. He was carving something apparently, I suddenly heard a noise and Bilbo walked over cautiously and said nervously, 'Wha- What was that?'

Kili looked over 'Orcs.' He said, a serious look on his face. Kili was cute… Fili interrupted my thoughts, when he said, 'The lowlands are crawling with them.' Kili continued, 'They hunt in the wee hours of the night. Quick and quiet. No screams. Just lots of blood.' Bilbo looked around him nervously, as if an orc was going to jump out of nowhere and stab him or something. Kili looked over to his brother, and sniggered, when Thorin turned around.

'You think a night raid by orcs is a joke.' He said. That shut Kili up, "we didn't mean anything by it" said Kili. Balin came over, 'Don't worry lads, Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs.'

Then he continued to tell them about the tale of how Thorin destroyed a terrible orc. I listened to every word Balin said with rapt attention, by the end of the story however, Adra was asleep and I myself was drifting off. Not that the story was boring or anything, but it had been a long day and I was tired.

'Do you know if she will survive?' My mother's voice rang out into the darkness. hang on... my mother's voice? Slowly, the darkness turned into images. Terrible, gut wrenching images. My mother was there, tears streaming shamelessly down her face. My father next to her, his head in his hands, silently breathing in harsh, ragged breaths. Her two little twin brothers, Jackson and Lucas, both had sad and confused expressions on their faces, as if they know they're supposed to be sad but don't know why their sister is lying on a bed and not outside playing with them. Her older sister, Amelia, left her work early to see her, and was comforting the twins, an arm around them both and a single tear rolling down her beautiful face.

The doctor turned around, and looked at them with an expression that was full of sorrow 'There is a chance, but it is small.'

'anything is better than no hope at all doctor, do what you must.' said my mother, tears in her eyes but there was a fierce look in them that suggested that she wasn't one to just let her daughter die.

The doctor looked a little alarmed at my mother's determination, but nodded his head and walked out of the room. I held back the urge to laugh, and turned to look at the bed. That urge soon turned into an urge to not scream. I was NOT expecting that... it was me, lying on the bed, pale as a vampire, tubes running in and out of me, through my nose, mouth and arms. There was a computer monitoring my heart rate. Apparently I was stable. No, can't be. I am here. Not in that bed. No. That's not me, my family. No.

I sat up, out of breath and I remembered what I had just seen. Was this real? What's happening? That hospital room didn't look like the one in Louth, so... Where was I? Oh, wait. That's right. On an adventure with dwarves to kill a dragon and get gold. Who could forget. So that must've been a dream...

Adra was stirring next to me and I felt bad because she was as tired as hell since yesterday and I wasn't letting her sleep… oh, no, she's asleep.

I sighed and fell back on the place I was sleeping on, only to find a foot where my head was supposed to be. I jerked back up, an involuntary squeal escaping my lips. Someone else was awake and jumped up to me, putting a hand to my mouth. I calmed down a little when I realised who it was. 'Shh! You're gonna wake everyone! What's wrong!?' Kili half-whispered, half-yelled to me, as he slowly released his hold on me. 'My head collided with someone's foot.' I whispered, 'So I jerked back and squealed a little, I guess.' Kili looked at me as if I had too much sugar or something. To prove my point, I went back over to the spot where the foot was, and picked it up. As feet go, it was attached to a leg, which was attached to a Thali shaped body. She groaned and grabbed back her foot. 'What do you want with my feet?' She asked me groggily, 'You have your own, use them.'

I sighed as she turned around and went back to sleep again. I looked over at Kili, who was silently laughing his head off. I lightly slapped his arm and he gave me a pouty look. 'What was that for?' he asked me in an innocent tone, the same one he used before on his brother. 'Just shut up and go to sleep.' I said, 'no, I can't sleep. hey, want to pull pranks on uncle?' Kili asked me, suddenly happy again as he looked at me with big puppy eyes that Jackson and Lucas used all the time. Usually, it works, but not when I was tired. 'No.' I replied as I went back to my sleeping nest. But Kili wasn't about to give up. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from my little nest, a hand around my mouth just in case I was going make a lot of noise.

He kept leading me through the wilderness, until we came into a clearing. He let go of me and I half glared and half smiled as I asked him ' Do you know the way back?' He grinned up at me as he knelt down to put something on the ground. 'Of course, you underestimate my navigation skills, lass.' He wagged a finger at me as he got back up and pulled out a sword. 'By mahal's beard! Are you crazy?! Oh my God! Please don't hurt me, I have so much to live for!' Were the first things out of my mouth before I stopped because Kili fell on the ground laughing.

'what are you laughing at?' I demanded as he sat up, shaking with laughter. 'The look on your face... was priceless!' He said in between gasps of laughter, and as he tried to get up. I pushed him back down and he lay there like a turtle trying to get back up. I laughed back at him.

Once he had managed to finally get up, he shook himself off and handed me his sword. 'what do I do with this thing?' I asked him. He smiled a little, and walked over to me. 'You fight with it. Here, let me teach you.' And most of that night consisted of me learning defence and attack and running as fast as I can.

By the time we got back, the sun was already peeping behind the trees, and Thali, Bofur and Dwalin were up. They were all sitting around the campfire, Bofur fiddling with his hat, Dwalin sharpening his axes and Thali drawing in the dirt with a stick. She looked up when we entered the vicinity, and she smiled. Bofur winked, and Dwalin nodded his head at us and we smiled back at them.

I sat down next to Thali, who was carving her name into the dirt, she had already done mine and Adra's. Everyone was silent for a while, doing their own thing. More dwarves started waking up and Adra was still asleep. The ones that were up were Kili, Thali, Fili, Dwalin, Bofur, Balin, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Gloin, Bilbo and myself. Gandalf was nowhere to be seen. There was much confusion as to where Gandalf had disappeared to. That was, until we heard him whistling away as he returned to the area. Apparently he had gone to look for any dangers ahead.

When Thorin heard this, he scowled a little and ordered Thali and Ori to wake the others up. Ori was off already, waking up his brother and Oin. Thali hesitated, for she had to wake up Adra. I laughed a little, for I know that Adra is a challenge to wake up, for she loves her sleep. It is actually quite easy, once you dodge the dozen punches and kicks she throws at you. So Thali decided to wake up Bombur first. Fili ran forward to help her lift him to his feet, and once that was done, she stopped and stared at Adra with a slight frown on her face, with a little fear showing through on her features. 'Come on, girl, what are you waiting for?' Thorin demanded, for everyone was watching her. 'I'm thinking of the best way to wake her up without getting severely injured.' Thali replied, a slight waver in her voice. I heard Kili snort a little behind me, and I heard Fili kicking him in the shins. 'Nope, stuff it, I'm just gonna go and wake her up.' Thali said, and stared at the sleeping form of Adra. 'I'm going… I'm going.' She said, trying to convince herself, without much effect. 'I'm go-'

Thorin scowled again, that is the only expression he seems capable of, and cut her off 'I'll wake her up, for Mahal's sake! How hard can it be?' He grunted and he started moving toward Adra. Thali jumped in front of him, spluttering out 'I - I don't think that's a good idea -' But he cut her off by shoving her aside. Thali fell back to stand next to me, her green eyes wide with worry.

Thorin was now standing next to Adra, and he was scowling again. he shook her shoulder... Thali put her head in her hands and I groaned a little. He'll be lucky if he comes out of this alive... I thought to myself. A fist flung out of nowhere, narrowly missing his face. Thorin jumped back, a look of surprise and fear mixed in his face. So, he is capable of more emotional expressions...

But Adra wasn't finished yet. She jumped up, her hair a mess and her eyes wild and angry, as she started kicking the hell out of his left leg. He jumped back, yelling 'what in the name of Durin?! Stop her!' Thali and Kili ran forward and pulled Adra off. She shrugged them both off fiercely, fixed up her hair, cleared her throat and said, looking him straight in the eye, 'I'm sorry, your highness. You... Startled me.' and with that she walked off to pack up her things. Thorin watched her go, with an expression of utmost bewilderment, and Thali walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, trying her hardest not to explode with laughter. 'Lesson learnt, Thorin, lesson learnt.'


	9. Chapter 9 - the other side of thorin

Chapter 9:

_**Adra's POV:**_

Oh no. No. This can't be happening. I kicked a king! That's not very ladylike at all! I felt so horribly guilty that I couldn't even look him in the eye. Not that I ever looked anyone in the eye that much anyway. That was Thali's thing. You see, he tried to wake me up, and I got a little… surprised, if you must. Ok, I may have kicked him multiple times and might have attacked his leg a little, but when someone wakes me up, according to Rena, they're walking towards their doom. As I scurried around, gathering my belongings, I was vaguely aware of Thorin staring at me from behind, so I rushed around the corner. Oh great, now he thinks I'm some crazy, dangerous fool.

Rena and Thali somehow found me and decided that I wasn't already embarrassed enough and launched into a recount of what I had looked like when I attacked him. "Do you always attack people when they try to wake you up?" asked Fili, suddenly appearing at my side, and making me jump "or was it just a nightmare you were having?" added Kili with an innocent look. 'No, that was her calmly waking up.' Rena replied, with that cheeky grin of hers and Thali, Fili and Kili cracked up and not too soon after, I joined in, laughing.

"I don't think Thorin appreciates being attacked by you though." Thali continued, after we had all calmed down. I shifted uncomfortably, but Kili saved me the trouble of answering to that one, 'Don't worry about it, uncle will soon forget it, Adra.' I smiled, hoping that was true.

The next few days were slow, groggy and mostly damp. The days that we did have sun though were mostly very windy and cold. We took shelter where we could find it, though sometimes we had to keep moving throughout the night.

Everyone's mood was usually dependant on the weather. When it was rainy, everyone was usually silent and grumpy, unless there was decent shelter so we didn't get wet. When it was a sunny day, everyone was happy, singing along to songs and having their own little conversations.

One particular night, however, stood out to me the most. It was a rainy night, although everyone was happy. Even Thorin, which was highly unusual. At least, he talked more and smiled a shadow of a smile once or twice. But that smile only appeared when his nephews or Thali made him laugh. Apparently he had taken quite a shine to Thali. But that didn't surprise me. Everyone does eventually.

I was sitting down next to Bofur and Oin, discussing all kinds of different things, when I noticed a small figure sitting apart from the others. It was Bilbo. The poor Hobbit. He must be feeling so lonely. I excused myself from the current conversation and made my way over to him. He was sitting on a rock, his head in his hands. I sat down next to him and he looked up. 'Oh, hello, my dear Adra. What can I do for you?' He asked me, with a slight waver in his voice. 'You looked lonely, Bilbo, are you alright?' I replied, looking at him intently. He looked confused, and then sighed. 'Yes, I do believe I am alright. It's just sometimes it seems like everyone else isn't interested in talking to me or anything.' He mumbled the last part mainly to himself. 'You should eat something.' I told him, after a while of silence. Bilbo opened his mouth to reply, but his stomach grumbled an answer for him.

He looked shocked for a minute, but then I started to grin and we soon both started to laugh. When we calmed down, Bilbo got up from his seat and went over to Bombur, who was serving some delicious soup I have never tasted in my life.

I looked back over at the Company. They all looked so cheerful. Rena was talking to Dori and Ori, who had his book out and was drawing something. Thali and Fili were laughing at a joke Kili had just said, while Fili very slowly, as if to not let Thali notice, inched his fingers closer to hers.

I chuckled a little. Thali has never really been one for love. She's more into archery, horseback riding and beating up people who are being mean to her friends.

Rena, on the other hand, wanted love but didn't fully understand how hard it can be sometimes. She has been out with a few men, but they all never called her back and then she got confused and sad and went into a state in which she never left her house for weeks on end.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realise that someone had sat down beside me. 'Your thoughts seem to be troubling you.'

I froze, for I knew that voice. That deep melodic, soothing voice. I turned my head to look at the person sitting next to me, and I nodded a little. 'Care to share them?' Thorin asked me, wondering what was on my mind. 'It's nothing, really, just wondering about this quest and whether my friends would be safe.' I replied, glancing back at everyone, who had started a song about the sun and sky.

Thorin smiled a little, and said to me, in an almost amused tone, 'You seem to care for your friends like and older sister or a mother would.' I chuckled a little. 'I've never really had the privilege of having a sibling and these two are as close to little sisters as you can get. They sure do cause enough mischief to keep me busy for a while though…' I replied, and Thorin laughed, a low, soft laugh which turned my stomach into mush. 'Yes, they do, don't they. They remind me of two sets of siblings. Fili and Kili for one, and my own for another.' Thorin said, with a glint in his eye as he remembered his siblings, although there was something else there too, like sadness or something.

'Wait… you had siblings?' I asked him, for he didn't strike me as the type to take care of little brothers and sisters. He chuckled, and replied, 'Yes. I had two. Dis is my sister, Fili and Kili's mother and Frerin he… was my brother.' Thorin paused when he mentioned his brother, that sad look in his eyes more prominent now as he looked at me. Then realisation hit me. 'Oh, Thorin, I'm sorry' I spluttered out, for I did not like to push the subject of passed loved ones. Thorin nodded once, and changed the subject. 'I've been meaning to ask you… where did you learn to kick like that? I really need to get lessons. You really do injure a dwarf's leg.' He said with a sly smile, and I rolled my eyes. 'If you hadn't had woke me up then your leg wouldn't be so bruised.' I pointed out and he laughed again.

'Thorin! Come and look at this!' Balin shouted over to him, and he sighed. Thorin got up, and nodded to me and smiled, 'Goodnight, Adra.'

I nodded my head as well and when he walked away, It felt like my soul was soaring.


	10. Chapter 10 - Kili's dare

Chapter 10:

Thali's POV

It seemed like a normal night, everyone laughing and talking away, when I saw it. It was beautiful. Light brown; with streaks of blue in its feathers, it stared at me as if I was an alien or something, but didn't fly away. It was a Thrush. Cute as a button it was. I wanted to keep it. I stared at the bird; my face forming a slight frown as I ever so slowly got off my log of a seat and crouched down. I slowly moved towards it, my movements reminding me of what it would look like if a frog could walk instead of jump. Kili stopped talking and stared down at me 'Thali? Are you alri-' I cut him off with a 'Shush!' and continued slowly making my way over to the bird.

When I finally reached it, nearly everyone was staring at me. The thrush looked up at me, and cocked its head. I slowly put my arm out. Everybody seemed to hold their breath. It took one step toward me, and then raised its wings and flew upward. Everyone let out a low groan and I said, 'Oh no! Oh – Oh okay then.' The Thrush turned, changed direction and landed neatly on my shoulder. I turned to the rest of the company, grinning wildly, while they all cheered and Balin, noticing that Thorin missed all that, cried out, 'Thorin! Come and look at this!'

It was later that night, and I was patting my bird – which I had decided to call Kevin – when Adra came over to me. She seemed to glide, and had the happiest expression on her face I had seen in a while. She sat down and couldn't stop grinning, which made me think that she spent the day with a coat hanger in her mouth. She was staring at something. I followed her gaze. Or, she's staring at someone. Now, why would she be staring at Mr. Majestic like he just turned into the new Channing Tatum or something?

Kili had noticed her staring too, and decided to stir up her thoughts, 'Having fun tonight, Adra.' She barely acknowledged him, and, still staring at Thorin, she replied with an 'Uh- huh.' Kili smirked and Fili raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. Everything was silent for a while before I realised that Adra hadn't met Kevin yet. 'Like my bird?' I asked Adra, and I put out the arm that Kevin was on so that she could get a good look at him. She paid no notice. Instead, she got up, stretched, and bade us all a goodnight. I frowned. Ok… That's not like Adra at all. Maybe Thorin had an annoying braid in his hair that she wanted to fix or something. I thought, and looked over at Thorin. Nope. No miss-matched braids anywhere. I sighed. Oh well, maybe she's just tired.

The next day was the most fun I've had on this adventure. It was the best of days, not too hot or not too cold, and the sun was shining, although not too brightly. Everyone was laughing and having a ball. Kevin was flying in between everyone, doing tricks and things to entertain everybody, before flying to my shoulder to have a quick break and start up again. Over and under, side to side he flew, skimming over Bofur's hat and flying in between Bombur's rope beard. Even Thorin, who usually keeps to his grumpy, majestic self, was feeling happier today.

I was riding behind Fili and Bifur, laughing along with everyone else, when Kili came up beside me. He glanced at me sideways, and said, in a voice dripping with sweetness, 'Oh Thali, my dear! You look dazzling today!' I rolled my eyes and said in a flat voice, trying hard to keep my amusement under control, 'Why, Thank you Kili. You do look dashing today as well.' Kili smirked a little and I saw Fee's shoulder tense in front of me the slightest. Is he okay? I wonder what's wrong… I thought to myself, but my thoughts were interrupted by Kili, who continued, 'Oh, but not as gorgeous as you, Thali, your smile lightens up the whooooole day!' Kili smiled a dazzling smile at me, and I rolled my eyes again. Fili had stopped talking to Bifur and was breathing really steadily, as if trying to control himself. Okay, something was definitely up. 'What do you want, Kee?' I asked Kili, who had a mock shocked expression on his face. 'Me!? Oh I don't want anything at all, just to compliment you on your amazing beauty!' Fili snorted in front of us, and I laughed. Kili stopped 'Ok – I can't keep the act up any longer.' He paused and winked at me. I was the one to snort this time, and he continued, 'Thali… I dare you to steal Bofur's hat.' I was shocked, for no one, and I mean it, no one steals Bofur's hat and gets away with it. But as soon as Kili had requested it, a plan started forming in my mind and a small smile formed on my face. 'Challenge accepted, Kili Durin.'

I rode ahead, only to stop beside Fee, and I opened my mouth to ask if he was ok. But no words came out. He looked at me expectantly, but I closed my mouth and waved my hand, telling him to not worry about it. I'll ask him later. Firstly, I have business to do.

When my horse, Jester, was level with Bofur's, I held out my arm and whistled once. Kevin came flying onto my arm, clearly having the time of his life. I glanced at the ground, and Kevin got the message. I kinda have this telepathy thing with the bird. It's pretty cool.

Anyway, Kevin spread out his wings, and fell backwards, on purpose. Bofur, who had taken a shine to the bird, bent down to scoop him up before he could hit the ground. When Bofur's head was ducked, I quickly snatched his hat and fell back beside Kili. Once Bofur had picked up Kevin, he whistled gratefully and went back to his flying routine.

I waved the hat in Kili's face, who looked at me in shock. Then we both counted down on our fingers. Three, two, one…

'WHERE'S MY HAT?!'

Kili, who had the hat, quickly put it on my head and caught up to Fili. I scowled at him when he exclaimed 'Thali has it!'

Before I knew it, Bofur was beside me and he looked at me expectantly. I decided to play it cool. I felt the top of my head, and opened my mouth in mock surprise and cried, 'Oh! Your hat! Now how did that get there?' I grinned sheepishly and gave it back to him. He looked stern for a moment, then chuckled and rode ahead, letting me know that we're still friends and I'm not gonna die. I sighed in relief and rode up to Kili and smiled a winning smile. Kili was too shocked for words.

Then it rained. Again.

'Here, Mr. Gandalf! Can't you do something about this deluge?' Dori called out to Gandalf over the pounding rain. 'It is raining, master dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world you should find yourself another wizard!' Gandalf replied, and Dori slumped back in his saddle, looking disappointed. 'Are there any?' Bilbo asked Gandalf, who jerked his head back, a little and asked, 'What?' Bilbo realised that he needed to correct himself, and he did, 'Other wizards?'

'There are 5 of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the white. Then there are the two blueses… you know I've quite forgotten their names…' Gandalf trailed off, trying to find the names of the blue wizards. 'And who is the fifth?' Asked Adra, who was listening on the conversation

'Well, my dear that would be Radagast, the Brown.'

'Is he a great wizard or is he… more like you?' Bilbo asked, and I frowned a little. Boy, he does have some guts, that hobbit, insulting a wizard. But Gandalf didn't take any notice, and answered Bilbo's question anyway. I didn't get to hear the answer, however, because Fili rode up beside me, with Kevin on his shoulder. My horse, Jester, is courting his horse, Sheena, apparently, and she doesn't seem to mind one bit. So instantly, as soon as they became level, they were riding a few inches between each other. I sighed, and Fee chuckled. Kevin, seeing his chance, flew off Fili's shoulder and landed on Jester's head, chirping merrily and not minding the rain one bit. Jester, clearly annoyed, tried to shake Kevin off without much avail. He gave up.

I laughed, and turned to Fili. He smiled, a little sadly and looked straight ahead. 'Hey, you okay? You seemed angry earlier.' I asked him. He glanced at me and sighed, fiddling with the reins he was holding.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I was just a little tired.' He replied. In my mind, I scoffed. I let it slide though.

The next few hours were mostly silent, only two or three people having small conversations, until Thorin stopped us at what appeared to be an old farmhouse. There were a few garden patches, full of weeds and dying away, and there was a rotting house a few metres away from all of them, only the frame of it remaining. I looked over at Adra, who had a face that clearly stated that if they were to stay here tonight, she'd better get the cleanest spot with the least rats and mould.

'Let's stop here for tonight. Gloin, Oin, get a fire going.' Thorin said, as he walked over to the old house thingy, 'Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them.' He added before he was out of ear shot.

I started unpacking my things, and because I didn't have very many belongings, decided to help Adra unpack her stuff. And boy, it took forever. She had everything, I swear, and if she packed one more thing, Rena and hers pony would have keeled over backwards.

Once I had finished, I flopped on my back, just in time to see Gandalf walking away 'Gandalf, where are you going?' I inquired, and he barely missed a stride as he answered 'To seek out the company of the only person who has sense.' Bilbo looked up, curious as to whom this person is 'And who is that?' He asked. 'MYSELF! Master Baggins! I've had enough of dwarves for one day!' Gandalf snapped, and he walked away. I snorted a little. Uh, excuse me, Gandalf? I have sense here! Why don't you talk to ME!? Oh yeah, that's right, you're a wizard and you're supposed to be mysterious. Wow Gandalf, just wow. I thought to myself.

Before my thoughts could get any further, however, two faces appeared in my vision. I sighed. 'You're blocking my view of the sky, you two.' I told them, and they both grinned. 'Well, we were thinking,' Started Fili, 'And we decided that horses are too much to handle if only two people were watching them,' Kili continued, with a glint in his eye.

'So you want me to help you watch them.' I finished. That wasn't a question.

They both nodded excitedly, and I sighed. Seriously, what is it with me and sighing all the time? I think I'm losing lots of oxygen because of it.

I got up, but didn't get the chance to walk to the ponies because they both grabbed one of my arms and literally lifted me off the ground so that my feet were dangling every which way and they took me to the ponies. Sometimes I hate being the short one. To top it off, Kevin decided to come along too, so he flew onto my head.

We were all just talking about random stuff, when we forgot about the ponies. 'Whoops! I'm just gonna go check on them.' Kili remarked, and jumped up and started walking toward the ponies.

'Hmm… sooo.' I said, because there was clearly an awkward silence. Fee just looked around every which way and that, except at me. Then he got out a block of wood and a small knife, and started whittling away at the wood. I just sat there for a moment watching him, before he looked up and said 'Why are you looking at me?' I realised what I was doing and spluttered out an 'Oh sorry.' And decided to watch Kevin fly silently above our heads. He really was a beautiful bird.

After about ten minutes, Kevin got tired and flew onto my shoulder instead. Whenever he does this, I resist the urge to yell like a pirate or find an eye patch because I really feel like a pirate. With Fili still working on the wood, I decided to break the silence, 'Sooo how's life?' I asked him. He looked up, raised an eyebrow and was about to answer when Kili came crashing into the vicinity, yelling something about two ponies being missing.

Oh shit.


	11. Chapter 11 - the trolls' doom

Chapter 11:

Bilbo's POV

'He's been gone a long time.'

'Who?'

'Gandalf.'

'He's a wizard!' Bofur assured me, 'He does as he chooses. Here,' He handed me three warm bowls of stew, 'Do us a favour and take these to the lads and lass.' I nodded and started heading towards the ponies.

Scouring through a forest with three bowls brimming with stew is never easy. I nearly tripped a few times and ended up accidently spilling half the stew out of one bowl. Oh well.

When I finally reached Fili, Kili and Thali, they were all standing and staring at the horses with a confused expression.

'What's the matter?' I asked them.

'We're supposed to be looking after the ponies,' Kili started.

'Only we've encountered a slight problem.' Fili continued, giving me an anxious look. Sometimes it's almost like these two brothers have one mind.

'We had sixteen.' Thali informed me, and I quickly counted the ponies. My heart sank a little 'And now there's fourteen.' I finished for her.

Then the four of us started to inspect the scene to figure out what had happened.

My mind was a bit of a blur, I remember answering things to the two brothers, but I forget what they were. And I remember Kili pointing out that Daisy and Bongo were missing. Then Fili pointed something out that brought me back to earth.

'There's a light.' Fili said quietly, and crouched low and started running towards it. Kili and Thali followed. I did, although a little more reluctantly than the others. I did not want to know where that light came from.

'What is it?' Thali asked the brothers. Kili, staring straight ahead, simply said 'Trolls.'

Oh great.

The three of them ran forward to hide behind a rock, so that they could get a better look. I followed, almost getting found by a troll, carrying two horses, one under each arm. Oh no.

'It's got Myrtle and Minty!' I whispered to the others, who nodded. 'I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something.'

Fili nodded again, while Kili said, 'Yes – you should.' Thali frowned. So did I. What did he mean, I should? 'Trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small.' He continued, and then I realised.

I started to protest, but Kili cut me off, 'It's perfectly safe; we'll be right behind you.' He took two of the bowls of stew out of my hands, and gave one to Thali. She frowned a little, because it was half empty. Fili took the other.

'If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl.' Fili told me.

'Or, you know, he could just yell for help at the top of his voice. That always works.' Thali suggested, as she shrugged her shoulders. I thought that was a pretty good idea, but before I could voice my opinion, Fili had shoved me out into the open and with that; the three of them were gone.

The first thing I thought of was the smell. It was putrid. I had to resist, with all my willpower, to not spew everywhere, there and then. But I kept moving none the less.

I found the ponies, locked up in a pen near the Trolls. The trolls themselves were trying to find a way to cook them.

The ponies whinnied and neighed, causing a lot of ruckus because they were excited to see an old friend.

Trying to find a way to cut the thick ropes that held the ponies in was near impossible. I didn't have a knife or anything on me, because I wasn't that much into fighting. I was frantically looking around for a sharp rock or something, when I found out that one of them had a blade on them.

I crawled slowly, steadily and silently towards the troll. He had his back turned, but he stood up to scratch his behind. I swear, none of these trolls have any manners at all.

I was about to grab the blade, when it reached its hand behind to grab an oversized handkerchief to blow its nose. Unfortunately, I went with it.

The next thing I felt was some sticky, thick liquid been sprayed on me.

Troll snot.

'Ah! Bert! Look what's come out of me 'ooter!'


	12. Chapter 12 - being cooked alive

Chapter 12:

Fili's POV:

Bilbo has been gone a long time. The poor hobbit had looked so frightened when I pushed him out in the open, I felt bad now… I saw Kili standing up and sheathing his sword. "Let's go!" Kili whispered to us and we got up, pulling out our weapons. Thali made to go out first but I pushed her back saying, "you go and get the others ok? Just in case." She looked at me with those bright green eyes of hers and started to protest but I clamped my hand over her mouth. Kili sniggered a little but thankfully, Thali didn't seem to notice. 'Thali listen to me, we might need the others' help. These are fully grown trolls we're dealing with here.' She gave me a fierce look of hatred which made me feel slightly ashamed; I never wanted to see that look given my way again. I loosened my hold on her and she jogged back towards the others without a single glance back. I turned, nodded to Kili and stepped outside and immediately jumped behind a few trees close to us, the trolls hadn't noticed. what a horrible smell!

My noses complaints about the smell were interrupted by one of the trolls saying "gotcha! Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't be?" 'no' I heard Bilbo squeak, I felt ashamed, is this what uncle would have done? I had sent out the poor hobbit only because I was afraid…

_you weren't afraid, you used your brains and sent the hobbit because he's light on his feet and the trolls would never hear him coming _Said a voice in my head. _No way. He did it cause he's scared. Thorin would never have done that; he would have gone instead of his friends. How on earth are you going to be a good king? _Another voice argued.

I shook my head and turned to signal Kili when instead I found Thali sitting right next to me and the rest of the company behind her. She looked at me, her green eyes piercing my blue ones, I nodded once to let her know I was good and turned to uncle Thorin but he was looking around wildly and he looked at me and said in a voice which was deadly calm, but I knew there was trouble 'where is Kili?'. I looked around for him but I couldn't see him anywhere. 'Oooow!' and then I heard Kili, "drop him" 'you what?' said one of the trolls. "I said, drop him." Says Kili. Then everything went chaos. One of the trolls had chucked Bilbo at Kili who fell when he caught him and all the dwarves charged the trolls.

Everything was a blur, all my brain is getting at the moment is, slash, dodge, charge, attack, defend and run. Thali came to my aid, and stabbed the troll's foot with her knives and jumped backwards, doing a somersault and landing perfectly. I couldn't help but gape at her, I didn't know she could fight. I made the mistake of turning around when I heard Rena scream Kili's name and I felt a blinding pain in my stomach, Thorin and Thali crying "Fili!" and everything went black.

I slowly opened my eyes and tried to sit up, big mistake… as soon as I tried to sit up, my stomach burnt with pain, and I screwed my eyes shut, willing for the pain to go away. Another problem, when I opened my eyes again, I figured out why it was so hard to get up. I was in a tight sack, along with the other dwarves. Where were the other dwarves? I turned to face the front and my eyes met a horrible sight. Half the company were getting cooked alive! Then I saw another troll holding Adra Rena and Thali. My eyes grew wide at the three struggling girls in the troll's arms. Oh no.

I opened my mouth to say something when Bilbo stood up, with great difficulty. "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!" 'You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!' yelled Dori. "half-wits? What does that make us then?' Bofur interrupts. I could only hope that our burglar had a good plan. "I meant with the uh… uh… the seasoning." Squeaked Bilbo. What on earth was his plan? Then I noticed a tall hat poking through the trees. I suddenly understood, he was playing for time! 'Well, have you smelt them? You're going to need a lot more than sage to plate this lot up.'

Chapter 13:

Rena's POV:

Oh burn! He knows how to insult someone! "What do you know about cooking dwarf?" asked a particularly ugly troll. 'Shut up and let the flurgerburber- hobbit talk.' Said the troll that was holding us while tightening his hold which made me squeal involuntarily. All three trolls covered their ears and glared at me. So they don't like high pitched noises… that gave me an idea. "The secret to cooking dwarf is… to uhh, ss… skin them first!" I face-palmed. 'Tom, get me filleting knife!' "What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on, scoff 'em I say! Boots and all." argued another troll. Oh no. time for my plan! I thought just when the other troll said 'he's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf.' And he picked up poor Bombur. 'Nice and crunchy.' He licks his lips when Bilbo interrupts: "Not that one! He's… infected." 'you what?' said the stupid troll. "Yeah, he's got… worms in his… tubes." Ew… the troll looks downright disgusted and threw Bombur down on to the ground.

'in fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't.' Bilbo rushed on. 'Parasites? Did he say parasites?' asked Oin and they all started arguing. I sighed, these dwarves were really slow in the brain. 'What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?' Bilbo shrugged uncomfortably, "well…" he mumbled.

'You think I don't know what you're up to. This little ferret is taking us for fools!' there was silence and I decided to take the chance. I took in a huge breath and screamed as high as I could. The troll holding us let go, and the trolls howled in pain, covering their ears. I kept screaming, but I was running out of breath! I looked at my friends pleading with my eyes for them to understand. They caught on and started screaming as well, although Adra's screams were the loudest, most piercing and the highest. We advanced on the trolls and they backed up in to the middle of the clearing. I was tired and my throat hurt.

I turned around and Thali was looking exhausted as well, same with Adra. We stopped, we couldn't do it anymore. Then suddenly "THE DAWN SHALL TAKE YOU ALL!" boomed a familiar voice, echoing through the clearing and the trees. I watched tiredly, as Gandalf broke the cliff he was standing on with his staff. Sunlight filled the clearing and the trolls moaned and cried in agony as they slowly turned to stone. I couldn't take it, I was so tired, Adra was on her knees and Thali trying in vain to get up but failed and the last thing I remember was me falling , Kili and Fili yelling and a thud as I hit the ground.

"She's waking up!" said Fili's voice and my eyes slowly fluttered open. I looked around and saw Kili, Thali, Adra and Bofur sitting around me, the other dwarves huddled behind them. 'Thank goodness you're alright!' says Kili, giving me a quick hug before breaking apart and Adra moved forward. "Sleeping beauty awakes!" she laughs, before hugging me and all the dwarves laugh good-naturedly, well everyone except Thorin. Thali looks relieved as she hugged me and Fili clapped me on the back and so do Bofur and the other dwarves. "So… what's up?" I say, making Thali and Fili laugh. 'Well, miss Rena, we have found a troll hoard.' Said Gandalf, moving out of the way so I could see.

It was a cave, with cobwebs all over the entrance and ew… it smells like troll. 'Can I stay out here? I've had enough of trolls to last me a lifetime thankyou very much.' I ask innocently and everyone cracks up laughing, I grin slowly and Gandalf and Thorin nodded before moving Thali, Adra and the dwarves into the cave. I sit down, not knowing what to do when Bilbo sits down next to me. "Hey, Bilbo. Didn't you go with the others?" I asked him and he shook his head 'no thank you.' He replied abruptly, I laughed and he slowly smiled. When I had calmed down, I turned to him again, 'what happened after I blacked out?' "well, nothing really. Everyone was worried about you and Thali and Adra were really weak. Fili supported Thali to walk here and Thorin helped Adra, while Kili carried you, then -' "what!" I squealed and jumped up. "Thorin helped Adra?!" Bilbo looked surprised and said slowly 'yeah… actually, she couldn't walk so he basically carried her here'

I was NOT expecting that. Could Thorin have taken a liking to Adra? But… I though Thorin hated all of us. Then I remembered how he had looked at her longer than me or Thali, and his change of attitude towards her after she attacked his leg. Was it possible? Adra, one of my best friends, could be future queen of Erebor… with Thorin! Happiness threatened to burst out, but I decided to tell Thali first, just to make sure.

Just as I finished my extremely long train of thought, the dwarves reappeared again with Gandalf behind them, a few seconds later. Kili walked up to me, his cheeks bright red. 'here, Rena. I thought you might like these.' He said as he handed me 2 short swords and a small knife. I took them smiling up at him, and he returned my smile. "Thankyou Kili." I said to him as I put them in my belt. I noticed Thorin giving Adra an amazing looking sword and I smiled to myself. Kili had noticed because he said "what are you smiling at?" I didn't say anything but he followed my gaze and a look of understanding settled on his features as, he too, smiled. 'I think uncle has found his One, wouldn't you say?' came Fili's voice from behind us.

"I think he may have, Fee." Kili answered seriously, looking at his brother and then back to me. 'let's leave them alone.' I said and we started walking but Thali stayed behind, looking at Thorin and Adra. I went back to her, linked my arm through hers and firmly led her away, but we didn't get very far because someone yelled 'something's coming!'

Chapter 14:

Adra's POV:

"Stay together now! Hurry, arm yourselves!" Gandalf yelled. I shared a worried look with Thorin before pulling out the beautiful ruby encrusted sword he had given me only moments before and he pulled out a long, elegant but deadly looking sword and rushed to the front, but not before giving me a look that said _stay back._ Seconds later, a queer looking person had burst through the bushes on a sled led by… rabbits? "Thieves! Fire! Murder!" the man yelled. What the hell? Who was this guy? And who murdered who now? Thorin turned around and looked at me, I raised one eyebrow and nodded at the guy's direction. He shrugged and turned to face forward again.


	13. Chapter 13 - parasites

Chapter 13:

Rena's POV

'You're gonna need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up' Oh, oh dayum. I think this burglar could win a burn competition. 'What do you know about cooking, dwarf?' One of trolls exclaimed, but the other stopped him. 'Shut up and let the, ahh, flurglerberber hobbit talk.' He said, and Bilbo nodded his head. 'Yes, thank you. The secret to cooking dwarf is um…' he stopped and the troll urged him on with a 'yes? Come on, tell us the secret.' Bilbo looked a little annoyed. 'Yes yes I'm telling you. The secret is… toooo skin them first!' I slapped my forehead. You have got to be kidding me.

The dwarves were livid. They started throwing insults at Bilbo every which way and that. He just rolled his eyes. 'Tom, get me filleting knife.' The troll who was listening to Bilbo ordered, but the one that was spinning the pole that had the dwarves on it scoffed. 'What a load of rubbish!' he protested. 'I've eaten plenty with their skins on! Scoff 'em, I say, boots and all!' Oh no. To make matters worse, the one that was holding me, Thali and Adra was agreeing, 'He's right. Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!' And he put me in the other hand next to Thali and Adra. That's when I noticed Thali had hidden something in her hand. I was about to ask her what it was, but I was distracted by the troll lifting Bombur up in the air, saying 'Nice and crunchy.' Oh great. He was going to eat him!

But before he could however, Bilbo interjected 'No not that one he's infected!' All the trolls stopped again. Bilbo, seizing this chance, continued. 'He – he's got worms. In his…tubes.' I scoffed. That was one of the worst excuses I've ever heard. But apparently it worked. The troll, clearly grossed out, dropped Bombur on top of everyone else. That's when Bilbo added, 'In fact they all have. They're infected with parasites, it's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it I really wouldn't.' He finished.

The dwarves had processed what he had said. 'We don't have parasites, you have parasites!' Kili yelled at Bilbo, and I rolled my eyes. But Thorin understood. He kicked his nephew the best he could while he was in the sack, and he stopped, looked at Bilbo and then back at Thorin. All was silent until Oin shouted, 'I've got parasites as big as my arm!' but Kili over-shouted him. 'Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!' He looked up at me with big eyes, as if saying that he doesn't really. It took all my willpower to not laugh. I smiled at him, and he looked relieved. 'What would you have us do, then?' The one spinning the pole asked. 'Let 'em all go?' Bilbo shrugged his shoulders, and the troll poked him, 'You think I don't know what you're doing! This little ferret is taking us for fools!' He exclaimed. Bilbo opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, the troll holding us screamed. I felt his fingers go slack, and my stomach dropped as he let us go. We fell on the floor, and I landed on my butt. Oh, how graceful.

I heard Thali scream a little with pain, and I looked over at her. She was lying on the ground. Not moving. Fear engulfed me. But before I could go over to her to see if she was okay, the troll screamed again. 'She stabbed me! The little worm stabbed me!' He held out his massive wrist, which was dripping with blood. One of the trolls growled, and moved toward Thali. Fili and Kili were struggling against their sack more than ever now, and the other dwarves were shouting. That's when I heard the voice.

'THE DAWN SHALL TAKE YOU ALL!' it shouted. Then the owner of the voice appeared on a rock, looking all Lion King Style. Gandalf. The trolls looked up, confused. But before they could do anything, he brought his staff down on the rock, splitting it in two. Sunlight spilled into the clearing, making the trolls howl with pain as they slowly turned to stone.

As soon as I got up, I ran over to Thali. She was sitting up, and she looked fine. Oh no, no she didn't. Her shoulder was dislocated and there was a long cut on her forearm. Blood dribbled down her arm and dripped off the end of her fingers. She looked at me and nodded, saying 'I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Here.' She handed me a knife. 'Help the others get out of their sacks.' She told me, and I nodded. Now everything was explained. She stabbed the troll, causing us to fall, so that we wouldn't get trapped when they turned to stone. So she must've fell and landed on her knife, causing her to dislocate her shoulder and making her bleed.

I went over to the others, who were still struggling with their sacks, and I cut them free. I decided to let Fili loose first, because he looked the most desperate to get out. As soon as he was free, he rushed to Thali's side. I smiled. They would be so cute together. But I will think about that later.

I continued to free everyone, until at last it was Kili's turn. As soon as he was free, he kissed me on the cheek. 'You know, I don't really have parasites; that was an act.' He said casually, as he walked off to check on Thali. I smiled a little, feeling my cheeks burning. But my thoughts were soon interrupted by a loud yell sounding from a few metres behind me. Thali.


	14. Chapter14-thea and a dislocated shoulder

Chapter 14:

Adra's POV

'Don't. Touch. Me.' Thali growled at Oin, who took a step back. I looked at Oin apologetically. 'Thali, we need to fix your arm somehow.' I told her. She glared at me. Honestly, she is so much like a child sometimes. 'Maybe we could just wait till it pops back in…' Rena suggested, as she appeared next to me, worry in her eyes. 'No.' Thorin told her. 'We need to get moving now. We can't waste any more time.' He continued, and everyone fell silent. Fili looked up at me from his place on the ground, kneeling next to Thali. I shrugged my shoulders.

'There is one thing I could do.' Thali said slowly, 'It might not be the best way to fix it, but it will be the quickest way.' She continued, looking up at Thorin, who nodded. 'What is it?' I asked her. She tried to get up, and, with the help of Fili, she walked over to a tree. 'This.' And she rammed her shoulder into the tree. A sickening crunch cracked the air, along with Thali grunting in pain. Oin made to walk forward, protesting, but Thorin held him back. Rena, Dori and Ori looked away and covered their ears, obviously grossed out. Fili and Kili looked alarmed, but didn't do anything.

'Di-did it work?' Rena asked me, and Thali shook her head 'Not yet.' She said. I groaned. She never realises the boundaries of pain, that girl. 'You do realise that this could make your shoulder worse, not better.' I told her and she nodded, ramming her shoulder into the tree again. 'Just give me one more go.' She asked me, giving me big puppy dog eyes that always melt me. 'Fine. But this is the last time.' I told her firmly, and she grinned and rammed her shoulder harder than ever. Another loud crunch filled the air, along with a huge POP! Thali rolled her shoulder, testing it. 'Yup. it worked. Told you.' She said to me as she accepted a bandage from Oin to fix the cut on her arm. I would have stitched it, but as we need to get moving, I'll do it later.

'Come on.' Thorin told us, and started walking through the trees. Everyone followed him, talking quietly, until we reached a cave. It smelt foul. Terrible. Like the toilet after Thali's dad has gone to the loo. But ten times worse. And that's saying something.

Some winged creature flew past my head, scaring me and causing me to squeal. It landed on Thali's good shoulder. Oh. Kevin. I forgot all about that bird.

Some dwarves – Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin, Bofur, Nori and Fili – decided to go in. So did Thali and Gandalf. The rest decided to stay outside. I sighed, and sat down next to Bombur. He smiled at me, and I did the same. He frowned a little. 'Are you alright, lass? You seem to be sad of some sort.' He asked me, and I looked back up at him. I sighed again. 'Yeah. I guess so. It's just that Thali was worrying me a lot today.' I told him, and he laughed. I smiled at his laugh, because it was a fruity laugh, full of life and happiness. 'Yes, she seems to be a worrisome one, doesn't she?' He smiled down at me as I laughed, pleased to see that I was letting off some steam. 'You seem to really care for her and Rena. Like your little sisters.' He inquired and I nodded my head. He continued.

'I myself have 12 young rascals of my own.' I looked up at him in surprise. 'Get out. 12?' I asked him, and he chuckled.

'Yes. Most of them are mischief makers, like your Thali.' He told me, looking down at me. 'I was always running after them, picking up their stuff and stopping the trouble. But you know what.' He asked me.

'What?'

'They stopped suddenly one day.'

'Why?'

'Because they grew up. They didn't need me to run after them anymore, and I had to learn to let go.' He looked down at me again. I sighed.

'Now there's the difference.'

'What?'

'Thali will never grow up.'

Bombur laughed loudly, and patted my shoulder. A thought suddenly entered my mind. 'Bombur… does Thorin… have any children?' I asked hesitantly. 'No. He doesn't have a wife either.' He looked at me knowingly, and I nodded my head.

The others came out of the cave, Nori, Gloin and Bofur grinning broadly and saying something about a treasure trunk of gold that they buried. Dwalin rolled his eyes. Thorin paid no notice. He was admiring a new sword he owned, made by the elves. It really was a beautiful sword. Thorin, obviously noticing someone staring at him, looked up and caught my eye. I quickly looked away, but he already started walking towards me. Once he got to me, I slowly looked up at him and smiled. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face as he handed me something. 'Here.' He said. It was a sword. Its scabbard was beautiful. Red rubies dotted its hilt, and the metal was gold, instead of silver or iron. I pulled the sword out of its scabbard.

It was about as long as my arm. The sword itself was silver, with gold swirls embedded in the metal. Inside the gold, there was Elvish and Dwarvish writing in silver. The hilt was gold, with silver swirls and red rubies incrusted in the silver. I gasped. It was the most beautiful sword I have ever seen.

'Thorin…wow. It's just, beautiful. Thank you!' I managed to say, and he smiled. 'You needed protection, and I thought, well, you might like this.' He told me, and I grinned. But before I could say anything, Thali came out of the cave, grinning her lopsided grin, her green eyes sparkling. I groaned. Oh no, why? Why, just why?

Thali… was loaded. Stock-piled with weapons. She had nearly everything. She had: A sword, with a dark blue hilt. Silver metal was woven into the blue, and there were blue Dwarvish runes on the sword, swirling around the blade, a hand axe, with green and black feathers, and black wood, hidden blades, arm guards, which hold the hidden blades, a beautiful bow, with green and white swirling around the wood, with 500 green and white arrows and white arrowheads, twin daggers, with gold and silver criss-crossing each other, and rubies on the hilt, two short swords, with emerald hilts and silver blades, 13 throwing knives, each with leather hilts and silver blade, one long dagger, with a light blue and soft orange hilt, and white blade.

She grinned at me, and I felt my hand being brought up to my face. Oh dear. She is set. She walked over to me and handed me something else. It was a shield. About the size of my forearm, it was silver and gold, like my sword, and had a red angel on it, made from rubies. Before I could thank her, however, Thali turned and walked over to Rena. She handed her two things – a long sword with a silver hilt, and amethyst gems incrusted in it. And a small shield, the same size as mine, with purple and silver swirling around each other. It really is amazing, what they found down there.

'Something's coming!' Thorin shouted, and moved in closer to me. I felt butterflies in my stomach, despite my fears. I saw Thali take out her sword, and Rena hesitantly lift hers. All the dwarves ran into a clearing and huddled together, facing the direction of the noise. Thorin moved in between the noise and me, so that he was standing directly in front of me.

'Thieves! Fire! MURDER!'


	15. Chapter 15 - the warg attack

Chapter 15:

Thali's POV

'MURDER!' Woah, this guy needs to calm down a smidge.

I couldn't see who had stopped before us, partly because I was shorter than most, but also because Fili is a head taller than me and was blocking my view.

Once I managed to wriggle myself around so I was standing next to Fee instead of behind him, I got a good look at the man.

He was tall, with brown cloak, hat and sleigh, which was being pulled by some rabbits. You know how people say that being pooped on by a bird was good luck? Well, this guy must have the best luck in the world. There was all kinds of bird shit running down his face. He had a staff too, which either made me guess he was a wizard like Gandalf – or he was really really old. My guesses went towards the wizard one.

'Radagast! Radagast, the Brown!' Gandalf greeted, and walked over to this man. 'What on earth are you doing here?' he asked, and the dude, Radagast, turned to him. 'I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong.' He stopped, and Gandalf urged him on with a 'Yes?'

Radagast looked puzzled, and then looked annoyed.

'Oh, I had a thought, but I lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue! Oh it's not a thought at all.' Oh no. Please no. He looked at Gandalf, and stuck out his tongue. 'It's a silly old stick insect!' Hmm, I think he might need to have that checked out.

I saw Adra groan and let her head fall onto Thorin's shoulder, and I held back the urge to gasp. Oh, my, Jesus. Thorin and Adra! They would be cute together beyond belief! Oh, that's right, the weird stick insect guy.

Radagast and Gandalf went off to talk, and I just went exploring. Cause I could. And there was nothing better to do.

Over rocks and under logs I went, until I tripped and fell, something stopping me when my head was only a few inches from a rock. 'Woah, lass, steady.' I recognised the voice. I looked up and smiled, stood up, and took Bofur's hat right off his head. 'Hey! Is this the sort of payment I get for helping you out?' he yelled as I ran away, him hot on my heels.

Once he finally reached me and snatched his hat back, someone else had appeared in the vicinity. 'What are you guys doing here?' Nori questioned us, as he stopped short, hiding something behind his back. Bofur raised an eyebrow. 'Exploring. What is that behind your back?' Nori jumped, hit his head on a branch, and fell into the little stream next to him. Bofur and I fell down laughing, and the thing behind Nori's back rolled until it stopped at my feet. I bent down and picked it up. I rolled my eyes. 'Seriously? An apple? Why are you so jumpy about an apple?' I asked him. Nori sat up, and opened his mouth.

Before he could say anything, however, a loud howl sounded from somewhere to their right. We all looked at each other, and ran back to the rest of the company.

'I-is that a wolf?' Bilbo asked hesitantly, just as I rounded the corner, 'Are there wolves out there?' Adra asked this time, and Bofur shook his head. 'Wolves? No, that is not a wolf.' Bofur told them, fear and caution in his voice. It's not a wolf, eh? Well it sure as heck sounded like one.

There was a yell behind me, and I turned around. HOLY SHIT! THAT IS NOT A WOLF AT ALL!

A humungous wolf bear thingy was charging at Ori. Oh dayum. Shit just got real.

Some part of my instincts that was buried deep inside me awoke and I suddenly knew what to do. Sheathing my sword and pulling out my two shorter ones with lightning speed, I ran a couple of metres in front of Ori and the beast.

The reason I did this: Ori isn't that skilled a fighter and he only has a slingshot for a weapon.

The colossal wolf wasn't prepared for someone else to step in front so by the time it jumped, it was headed for Ori. Perfect.

Holding my two short swords above my head, I started running towards it, and then skidded on my knees, so that my swords penetrated the creature's underbelly and pretty much ripped it to shreds. It was dead before it hit the ground.

Before I could do a victory dance, another one was advancing towards Thorin. But that one was walking to its death. Well, to Kili's arrow, anyway. Kee shot it with near perfect aim, and Dwalin ended it with one of his lethal axes.

'Warg scouts!' Thorin exclaimed. 'That means an Orc pack is not far behind.' He finished. Gandalf walked over to him in a frustrated fasion. 'Orc pack?' Bilbo asked in disbelief. Now, what is an Orc…?

'Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?' Gandalf demanded of Thorin, who shook his head.

'No one.' Thorin stated

'WHO DID YOU TELL?' Gandalf shouted.

'No one, I swear!' Thorin raised his voice. 'What in Durin's name is going on?' He asked.

'You are being hunted.' Gandalf informed them. Oh great. Just great.

'We have to get out of here.' Dwalin growled, but Ori cut him off. 'We can't. We have no ponies. They bolted.' Ori declared, fear in his voice.


End file.
